Plan Ahead: How to Relaunch an App Before 2018

When you’re at the very start of your mobile development campaign, there are so many things to consider! You should take a closer look at the overall industry and market players there also paying attention to your target audience. Don’t forget about distinctive features of your product and the level of its quality. It’s hard to imagine the successful future if you don’t plan everything ahead.

TecSynt has prepared a guide on the launch and relaunch of your mobile product taking to account current tendencies. Let’s ring the curtain up!

How to Start the Real App Development Business

Apart from the product itself, lots of things must be done before the final launch. And as BI Intelligence states, the most challenging aspect is marketing activities – this statistics is based on the InMobi’s survey. According to it, design and development are far behind marketing – who would have known that, right?

The truth is that even the best apps face the same problems as any mobile startup. Without proper marketing means, it’s impossible to acquire a solid number of customers. But let’s put it another way. Having lots of marketing knowledge by your side, it is possible to find some initial answers on your own when you’re at the first analytical stage.

For the very beginning, we recommend you think thoroughly on the core of your product and its target audience. To structure your thoughts, use these three points.

1. The main value. This is what you’re going to offer your customers. Think about the main idea of your application without extra details so far.

2. Target audience. Now, think about those people who will appreciate the value you’re going to offer. You will likely to have several groups of customers at the end of this analysis.

3. The benefits. In other words, the way you can differ from the competitors on the market. Any product must have a distinctive feature noticeable to users.

These three sides of one triangle will eventually define all of your marketing campaign. But how does an entrepreneur avoid mistakes moving further? We’ve got several thoughts to share with you on this subject.

Prelaunch Stage: Mobile App Marketing Pitfalls

Learning from your own mistakes in business can be rather painful. We suggest you use the knowledge gained in unsuccessful marketing campaigns. Are you sure you chose the right route for the start? Let’s figure it out.

1. Neglecting Marketing Research

With this first pitfall, we continue our conversation about initial data search – specifically, about your competitors. You see, the more you know about existing market players the more conclusions you get about the product’s value and its admirers. These are aspects you could pay attention to:

The names of the applications.

Device compatibility.

Pricing model.

The presumable target audience of each app.

The set of features.

Keywords that are being used, etc.

Along with this vital data, you can also gather some reviews from the apps’ users. After all, this information is priceless because it usually gives a hint on what actually goes wrong and what people really like about the app. This is a great knowledge for you too.

2. Not Getting Feedbacks from Beta Testing

Of course, developers and designers along with QA engineers and testers will have a thought or two about the app’s beta version. But are they the members of your target audience? We’re sure that in most cases the answer is “no”. But reviews on the beta version of the product are one of the most valuable data sources. They help you avoid critical mistakes in the initial app version.

You already know the portrait of your target audience. Try to reach these people. There are platforms on the market similar to TestFlight that will reduce the time needed to search a group of beta testers. Carefully document all the opinions and include them in the development process.

3. Getting Late with Marketing Activities

It’s very easy to forget about the promotional side of the development process. Companies want their product to look perfect, but what they neglect is the necessity to TELL about this product. And the story your app is telling is the key to success on the launch stage.

Thinking ahead is even more important if you decide to hire a marketing specialist for promotion. Such a person should know everything about the mobile application, so he needs some time to thoroughly learn it. These are the basic things that must be treated with the highest attention level:

Three aspects of the app store optimization. Smartphone users should have the willing to download your product. They have no idea what’s waiting for them under the cover – so, you should give them several hints.

The app’s name. A good idea would be to use some often-searched terms next to the brand’s name or as a part of the app’s name. Here are some examples of broadcasting apps: V LIVE – Broadcasting App, BroadcastMySelf, Broadcast Me.

Keywords. Every application has 100 characters to place them in the keyword section –your product will be discovered with them. We recommend changing the words from time to time – it helps to figure out what works best for you.

Description. You probably know that Apple’s App Store shows only up to 3 lines of your description - users should click to get more details. So, these few lines should be as intriguing as possible.

Preparing a press kit with all possible information about the app (icon size, screenshots, etc.)

Blogging about development stages and improvements, etc.

4. Not Setting a Specific Date for App Launch

Planning a date beforehand not only gives you confidence – it gives your product enough attention from press and media. It is also important to set the launch date not to blend with any important event in the tech world.

Additionally, the date gives you some time for a “curiosity” plan – how you will attract new customers and what you will tell the broad audience. Your application could be ready for the launch now – but is your target audience ready to meet it? So, give a chance to your future customers to get excited about the new app.

5. Losing Confidence in Your Team

When you’re about to launch or relaunch your product, it’s important not to worry about the team you’ve hired. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about developers or marketing specialists – don’t waste your time on wrong people. It will take many nerves from you when you’ll have to think about your profits or customers.

And in any case, your product will need some improvements in future. A proven team of professionals will always be by your side and ready to adopt changes at any minute – no one knows your application better than they do.

How Much It Costs to Relaunch an App or Launch a New App on the Market

Try to imagine the number of mobile app types and the set of their features. We believe the picture in your head looks rather vivid and impressive: messengers, food delivery apps, mobile games, payment apps… The list broadens every day. It’s not hard to get to the conclusion that each type has its own cost estimation.

But the set of features is not the only thing influencing the final price – the development team itself is also a great factor to consider. You know that hourly rates of developers vary hugely depending on the location.

Depending on the project, your dedicated development team may consist only of four members (a project manager, a developer, a UI/UX designer, and a QA engineer). And it can be extended to more members where the bigger number of developers, a business analyst, an admin, and a panel designer are also included.

TecSynt is a Ukrainian company, that’s why the hourly rates here is about two-three times lower than in the US or Canada. It leads us to these conclusions:

The cost of a simple mobile application is about $10 000-$20 000.

The cost of a more complex app begins from $25 000.

And the cost of an app with high complexity would begin from $75 000.

If we’re talking about the relaunch cost, you should be ready that mobile renovations can have the same price as the initial app development. It happens because user expectations are growing every day, and your business should be adaptive enough to meet them. Plus, your app will always need more spending on the mobile security to save users from the increasing number of malware threats.

Never Stop Exploring Mobile Opportunities

The overall development sphere is always about improvements. It is possible to launch a new application, but it won’t go far without renovations and enhancements. And the skillful development process goes hand in hand with marketing – it is an unwritten law for the mobile business of any size.

You can’t neglect the primary marketing research or miss the beta testing step before the app launch or relaunch. And along with that, your final success depends on each member of your team – we’ve learned that from our own experience in mobile app development. TecSynt knows how to surprise your customers, so let’s not waste this moment.

TecSynt is a mobile app development company that is reinventing collaborative development. Working with passion and clarity, we partner with companies, providing support for decision making and developing systems.